Hi,
Went out today and was doing well until I decided to take a gravel shortcut. Mistake!! The front skinny tyre dug into the gravels and I am gone. Was probably doing between 10 - 15km/hr. Had taken same route without problem in past.

Gravel rashes to my hip and leg. Surprisingly only minor rashes on my elbow. Checked the bike and apart from some scratches, nothing serious.

I will be taking that road slowly next time or probably best just to avoid it.

I second Uba's sentiment. When I lived in Sydney, I went riding on my DF road bike around Coogee, going down Moverly Rd at >40 kmph, got my front tyre stuck in the crack between the asphalt and the concreted-over tram tracks. I went flying over the handle bars, and got knocked unconscious. People in the car behind me managed not to run me over, dragged me off the road and used my mobile phone to call an ambulance - taken off to Prince of Wales hospital emergency under observation for concussion and had scrapes all down the left side of my body - still have the scar on my shoulder and the other scars show up if I have too much alcohol to drink! Had chiro treatment for months after to correct my neck & back getting all bent out of shape. The bike was fine - it didn't have as far to fall as I did, but I sold it and got a mountain bike instead to have wider tyres. 10 years later, my bad back resulting from this accident is now why I decided to get a 'bent

Sorry to hear about your spill, and glad you're ok!
Even roadies don't like taking their skinny tyres off the bitumen, so methinks you're a brave man! Gravel can be dodgy at the best of times.
On another note, I let a friend ride my trike yesterday, and he did something I haven't done, he rolled it! Not sure how he did it, but it seems like he was riding in the middle of the road, quickly moved to one side, and then just as quickly turned the other way to execute a U turn. Seems, he 'unbalanced' the trike and put her on its side.
Good thing he wasn't hurt, but i think it shocked him a bit! He must've thought it was a go-cart, or is on rails or something!

Must be the day for it. On the MTB today with new egg beater pedals went to hop over a log. Yep measured my length on top of said log.
Funny how your feet always come out of the pedals when you hit the ground! That part really sux!
A bit of Betadine and a roll on the bent tomorrow should fix it.
Rog

EVERY HILL HAS A CREST. GETTING THERE BEFORE THE HEART ATTACK IS THE TRICK.

Occasionally I come off my DF's but hardly ever, maybe it's because of the stand on pedals and put bike under you thing whereas on my SWB I have fallen three times so far, first was going slow turning left onto a main road with not enough speed so I fell to the side, second was quite a bit quicker while turning a corner and avoiding a car I locked the rear brakes and the back wheel slid out from under me in a split second, third was the same as lowracer I ran off a paved path while cornering and hit some of the soft edge sand and the bike just fell.

None of these falls would have occurred on a DF but by them happening I now have more experience and learned how to better ride a bent
1. concentrate on balance more while also checking for traffic 2. use the front brake more than the back and avoid using the back brake when leaning
3. avoid soft dirt like the plague and if you do need to cross any be extra careful not to lean.

Hi Storm,
The fish tailing on the SWB scares me. I rarely use the rear brake unless I am coming to a halt in straight line or reducing my speed coming down the hill in straight. Otherwise, it is front disc brake all the time.

The gravel rash made sleeping so uncomfortable and didn't get a good night sleep at all. A slight movement and a rub on the doona make sure you know the rashes are there. I don't like covering it up as it might become moist. Should I be covering it up?

Hi Graeme,
The irony in your advice is I am a pharmacist, but not very good when it comes to looking after myself. There are few in the market i.e bactigras, micropore etc. I can actually get some from work.

With braking, it becomes a little difficult when you are swapping between a trike, and a SWB!
On the trike, I *only* use the front brakes! lol!
But I guess coz I'm used to applying both brakes fairly evenly on the trike, I try and use both F and R when on the SWB, mostly out of habit, but tend to have the emphasis on the F brake.
I was always taught to use both brakes together, with the emphasis on the front, maybe that's what (mostly!) keeps me out of trouble?

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